The March of Stonehearth
Local Politics: the March The march of Stonehearth is a county-sized polity that started as a far-removed, self-contained "border area" maintained by a Baldur's Gate noble House. Stonehearth was not the first Gate nobility to maintain land outside the city walls, nor even the first to maintain territory and a keep outside the 25-mile half-circle territorial zone. Stonehearth was the first patriar, however, to have their external territory formally recognized as politically connected back to the city. In this case, the dukes set the tone as the Gate acted as a sovereign Grand Duchy. House Stonehearth was technically a vassal of the Gate, though the autonomy and distance of the march effectively made it a sovereign state. While there was no meaningful tax beyond a symbolic tribute, Stonehearth bore the considerable expense of the cost of operations. It was a win-win for Baldur's Gate, where the march set the tone for the city's farthest potential borders against the expanding and slowly encroach rivals at both the Zhentarim and Thay. Further, the march had a stabilizing effect on the inland Trade Way that passed through the Trollclaw Hills. The Turbulence Under the Surface Stonehearth's march was a break-away from the restrictive environment of Baldur's Gate. That may sound counterintuitive for those who know the laissez faire way of the Gate, but the complication came in the form of constant security threats. As there was little enforcement beyond simply keeping the peace, the door was open for coordinated foreign influence and operations. For Faerûn's biggest producer of arcane consumables (potions and scrolls), this was a critical hazard. Since the march was founded on the authority of its own Tripartite Charter, even before the 1434 expansion, the march was often referred to as a "small-m" marquisate. Indeed, the charter held sacred the principles of life, liberty and justice. While their noble rank may technically claim the level of a marquis, the polity is operationally a constitutional monarchy. The establishing charter served as a unified concept of operations, the source of a comprehensive legal code (Thou Shalt/Shalt Not), and the repository for the government’s standard operating procedures (SOPs). The Tripartite Charter was superseded by the Charter of Light (essentially an evolution of the Tripartite). Note: ''Stonehearth did, at one time, cite the gods of Liberty, Justice and Life in official documentation… but after the Second Sundering, the transient nature of the gods has dissuaded Stonehearth from codifying deities into their portfolios. That said, they still fully support the gods and charter their organizations in the marquisate. Representation In the City of North Point, there is an elected mayor of the city, plus 6 aldermen: 4 inside the walls (one from each district), 1 outside/upriver lowlands and another outside/south coast lowlands. This group comes together under the charter of the City of North Point. More than 20 other hamlets, villages, and towns around the marquisate send their mayors or appointed representatives. Together with the aldermen of North Point, they form the Stonehearth Marquisate Parliament (SMP). This provides a parliamentary legislative system. The SMP meets in the City Hall of North Point, within the City Walls, just off the Central Market. The Executive The Charter of Light is the font of executive authority within the Marquisate, and House Stonehearth is the designated steward for that charter. As such, duties including law enforcement, prosecution and criminal correction fall upon the Stonehearth Arms to execute. Stonehearth March Geography The march has one primary city: North Point. Despite the regional dangers of trolls and the undead, the energy of the city has sparked growth that has far outpaced what the walls could protect. Spreading out from North Point, along the lowlands coastline, are a dozen hamlets that stretch both inlands along the river and down the coast. The highlands, high atop the cliffs that give the Sword Coast its name, are a rolling plateau of fertile grasslands. Over the last near-century of Stonehearth homesteading, those highlands have been filled to capacity with farmlands. While the agriculture is advanced enough to feed half again as many people, even the "country" density is now enough that passing through the marquisate is very nearly passing through one long hamlet interrupted by occasional rows of farmer's fields. The City: * The City of North Point Other Key Sites: * The Cove of Ironport * The College of Arms * The Village of Shield's Bluff The Void of the Mageweave Barony The northeast corner of the marquisate has a small chunk missing from its authority. This is the Mageweave Barony, the first political grant and elevation made by Stonehearth to create a technical noble class in the area. The Other Neighbors To the south and southeast are Sarcalles and Grimfest, respectively, the capital of two later baronies granted by the Stonehearth Marquisate. There are no portals to these towns, but there area overland and maritime routes to both, and trade is brisk between them. Commerce and Industry The Stonehearth march was originally designed as the new overall home of House Stonehearth, who moved a great deal of the manufacture of their trade empire from Baldur's Gate up to this new home. As such, it was founded as a "company town." On that alone, it soon became an industrial center all its own. They did, however, encourage and incentivize a strong support structure. Because of that, North Point soon became home to hundreds of independently-owned and bustling businesses in an economy that would continue to thrive even Stonehearth itself withered away. While North Point is the major center for trade and production in the march, Ironcove, the College and 21 other towns within the jurisdiction all have their own cottage industries that support the area, the Arms, the stakeholders in the greater Marquisate, the Commonwealth, the partners in the Lords' Alliance and in some cases far beyond. Between the prevalence of arcane magic and the mundane magic of the economy, the standard of living throughout the march is the highest in Faerûn, and likely the highest average in Toril. While there are notable noble neighborhoods elsewhere that may exceed the marquisate average (in Waterdeep, et al), ''as a country, Stonehearth exceeds most "noble neighborhoods." Defense While the immediate region outside the march is profoundly unfriendly, the totality of the marquisate may be the most heavily defended area on Toril. The City of North Point is famously protected by a Primal Magic Mythallar as the automated mid-line of defense. "Famous" in that liches have spectacularly destroyed themselves trying to breach it. While North Point has a concentrated mythallar, the entire marquisate is blanketed by overlapping mythallar cells that power quasi-magic items, facilitate magical communications (wand calls), and repels both low-level undead and trolls. The front of line of defense are the forward operating companies of the Stonehearth Arms 2d Battalion. This a garrison posting, but their proactive patrolling has ensured that very few attacks have actually reached the outer city of North Point, much less the city walls. The interior defense is the Stonehearth Guard, the defensive specialists that double as both quick reaction force and local law enforcement. The Guard are also responsible for all civil and military facilities with the exception of the docks and Ironport Cove, which are handled directly by the Stonehearth Marines. Other notable military points include the Cove of Ironport, the Stonehearth College of Arms and Hearth's Reach Keep across the river. Ironport Cove is about two miles south of North Point and is technically its own municipality, though urban spread along the Sword Coast connects the two. The Cove is the home of the Stonehearth Navy and Marines, and is the home port for the majority of the fleet. This includes not only the great portal ships but also the heavy combat riverboats. Just a bit inland and about five miles south of North Point is the Stonehearth Arms training center and overall military command: the College of Arms. Also it's own municipality, this massive walled complex is nestled in at the base of the Sword Cliffs – and it's no secret that the complex digs deep into the plateau above. Finally, the 2d Battalion's regular point of conflict is just north across the river, where they base in Hearth's Reach Keep and conduct regular military operations against the Trolls and undead that infest the area. It was built as a lightning rod to divert attention away from North Point, and major strides have been made in securing the north shore, but with the presence of Larloch just over the mountain, the proxy skirmishing never stops.Category:Hall of Records Category:Introduction